Bearings Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Ball, Roller), By Application (Automotive, Agriculture, Electrical, Mining & Construction, Railway & Aerospace), And Segment Forecasts, 2019 - 2025

Industry Insights

The global bearings market size was valued at USD 102.2 billion in 2018 is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 9.1% from 2019 to 2025. Bearings are virtually used in every kind of equipment or machinery, ranging from automobile parts, farm equipment, and household appliances to defense and aerospace equipment. This factor is projected to drive the market growth in near future. There has been a rising demand for bearings with lower maintenance requirements, higher efficiency, and longer service life.

Moreover, rise in demand for specialized bearing solutions that meet different industry specific requirements and challenges is projected to boost the market. For instance, rising application of high capacity products in wind turbines is expected to catapult the demand. Wind turbines utilize these products to enhance turbine performance and reliability, increase energy production, and reduce lubricant consumption.

Manufacturers constantly work on improving the product designs to increase the performance and energy efficiency. They use special material for raceways, cages, and rolling elements as well as redesigned raceway profiles. Furthermore, technological advancements in seal and lubrication technologies and the use of lightweight materials in high-performance products, are generating huge prospects for the manufacturers. Integration of electro-mechanical features directly into the bearings helps in performance improvement and reductions in size and cost.

Rising demand for high-performance bearings has resulted in manufacturers integrating advanced sensor units in their products. The sensor units assist in digital monitoring of axial movement, deceleration, acceleration, rotation speed, and load carrying capacity of the product. Additionally, the advent of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), has encouraged adoption and constant monitoring of connected equipment and machinery. This trend has also influenced the bearings market positively.

A few key suppliers have started providing smart bearings, whose condition can be constantly monitored to predict faults before they occur. The adoption of smart bearings is still in the nascent stage. Several other major manufacturers are likely to offer smart bearings in their portfolios in near future. As it is easy to predict the faults in smart bearings before they occur, they add considerable value by reducing the cost of unexpected downtime, which is projected to surge the espousal of these products during the forecast period.

Product Insights

Based on product, the market is bifurcated into ball and roller. Ball bearings have a smaller surface contact and, therefore, help reduce friction to a great extent. They can also be used with thrust and radial loadings, ascribed to which, these products are increasingly being used in both four and two wheeled automobiles. Hence the segment is anticipated to witness healthy growth over the forecast period.

Roller bearings led the product segment in 2018 and is anticipated to continue its dominance and emerge as the fastest growing segment by 2025. These products reduce rotational friction, support radial and axial loads, and can sustain limited axial loads and heavy radial loads more efficiently than their counterparts. The widespread espousal of roller bearings by several industries, such as capital equipment, automobiles, home appliances, and aerospace, is estimated to positively impact the product demand.

Application Insights

In 2018, automotive segment held the largest market share, owing to increase in the automotive production, globally. Also, the demand for vehicles with technologically advanced solutions is escalating, thus, leading to rise in vehicle manufacturing that necessitates instrumented products. 

The railway and aerospace segment emerge as the fastest growing segment by 2025, attributed to growing global travel, need to renew aging fleets owing to stringent environmental legislation, and fuel price pressure coupled with the availability of improved ways to assist global and local transportation systems. Demand from the railway segment is also anticipated to rise on account of accelerated railway construction in the developing countries. Further, surging demand for small single-aisle aircraft and helicopters from emerging economies is anticipated further drive the growth.

Regional Insights

Asia Pacific is projected to observe the fastest growth in terms of sales, accounting for over USD 60 billion by 2025. China is one of the major markets, and the sales in the country are expected to catapult over the foreseeable years stimulated by the rapid expansion of machinery and motor vehicle production coupled with a strong aftermarket for industrial equipment and motor vehicle repair. Moreover, the robust construction and mining equipment market in India is estimated to facilitate the growth through 2025.

Europe is anticipated to witness favorable growth during the forecast period, owing to sustainable economic growth and increased investment. Furthermore, in the mature markets of U.S., Western Europe, and Japan, the demand is driven by the rebounding productions of motor vehicles and a healthy fixed investment environment.Increased sales of high value bearings, such as large-diameter, custom built bearings used in heavy machinery and wind turbines are also expected to drive the growth in North America. In Middle East and Africa, rapid development of city infrastructures is positively influencing the overall growth.

Bearings Market Share Insights

The major market participants include JTEKT, SKF, NTN Corporation, Timken, NSK Global, and Schaeffler Group. The companies are increasingly emphasizing on R&D projects to manufacture application specific bearings and to increase their efficiency. Intense competition has led manufacturers to invest in product developments to better cater to the customer requirements. For instance, NTN Corporation has developed a Grease Lubrication Type High-Speed Deep Groove Ball Bearing which has improved rotational speed.

Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends from 2014 to 2025 in each of the sub-segments. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global bearings market report based on product, application, and regions:

• Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2014 - 2025)

  • Ball Bearings

    • Deep Groove Bearings

    • Other

  • Roller Bearings

    • Split Bearings

    • Tapered Bearings

    • Others

  • Others

• Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2014 - 2025)

  • Automotive

  • Agriculture

  • Electrical

  • Mining & construction

  • Railway & Aerospace

  • Automotive aftermarket

  • Others

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2014 - 2025)

  • North America

    • U.S.

    • Canada

  • Europe

    • U.K.

    • Germany

    • France

    • Italy

    • Eastern Europe

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • India

    • Japan

  • Latin America

    • Brazil

    • Mexico

  • Middle East & Africa